


A Nightmare Awakened

by kuraudosoturaifu



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-21
Updated: 2012-10-23
Packaged: 2017-11-16 18:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/542259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuraudosoturaifu/pseuds/kuraudosoturaifu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat Vantas is in his second year of college, and is finding himself frequently haunted by dark memories of the past. What happens when the nightmares that have been tearing him apart suddenly become a violent and terrifying reality?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Please, no, don't do this, I'm sorry..." Karkat could hear the desperation in his voice, the horror at what his friend was about to do.

Fingers trembled on the trigger of a pistol held to the head of his best friend. Karkat watched as the greatest, most wonderful person he had ever known had their greatest moment of weakness, seconds from ending their own life.

"Isn't there anything I can do at all? Please? Oh god, please, just put the gun down..." Karkat was in tears now, not even thinking of how he was a blubbering mess, not realizing that the person about to end their own life was more calm and collected than he was. He couldn't believe his eyes.

  
"Karkat... There's nothing you can do. It's over for me. He's going to kill you if I don't kill myself. Those were the terms of my agreement with him." Pale, bloodless fingers began to tremble even more on the trigger, threatening to cut even shorter the life of Karkat's best and only friend. The voice grew more agitated. "Karkat, you know who we're dealing with here. I can't do anything about it and neither can you! I know what I'm doing is horrible and I don't want to do it, but in order to keep you safe I've got to do as he says!"

  
"Please, for the love of FUCK, just don't! Let him kill me! I don't care!" The alleyway in which the two of them stood was lit only by a streetlight, which began to flicker and grow considerably dimmer. Karkat was sobbing, watching his friend in horror, knowing he was powerless to do anything. He had never felt so vulnerable.

  
"Goodbye, Karkat."

  
"NO, PLEASE, FOR FUCK'S SAKES-"

  
Bang.

  
Karkat woke in a cold sweat to see Sollux shaking him. His eyes met those of his annoying as fuck roommate, and he couldn't help but notice that Sollux wasn't wearing those fucking annoying multicolored glasses. _Jesus, if he's lost the stupid specs, it must really be late._ Despite the fact that he was practically fucking hyperventilating from horror, he managed to shoot what he thought was an adequately rude glare at him.

"Sollux, get the fuck off my bed, I don't need your sympathy. I just... had a bad dream." Karkat inwardly cringed. He sounded like a wimp.

  
"Jeez, KK, you sure? You were crying and now you're hyperventilating. A "bad dream" sounds like an understatement, to be honest." Sollux raised his eyebrows at him, a trait that Karkat found really fucking annoying despite the fact that he had only known Sollux for a couple of days. It was like Sollux was always skeptical of everything he said. Karkat supposed that in this particular circumstance Sollux's skepticism would have been justified, but he wasn't about to talk about his dream with the idiot.

  
Karkat sighed and tried to relax, though with his heart going a million fucking beats per minute, he found that less than easy. He ran a head through his sweaty hair - great, I've gotta shower again in the morning - and shot yet another glare at his obnoxious roomate. His dark vision adjusting, he noticed that Sollux had dual colored eyes as well, and had to resist the urge to smirk. Sollux was the weirdest guy he had ever met, easily. With that stupid lisp and the ugly glasses, he reminded Karkat of some sort of weird flamboyant nerd. Sollux's appearance was almost laughable.

  
"Sollux, I'm not kidding, get the fuck off my bed and go the fuck to sleep. And I thought I told you to stop calling me KK. It's pretty fucking annoying."

"KK, do you ever stop swearing? It's 4 AM and I'm already kind of disgusted with you."

  
_Yeah, I'm pretty disgusted with me too. I kind of always am._

  
"Sollux, just go to sleep. I'm in no mood to talk to you. In fact, I never am. You're fucking obnoxious." Karkat flopped back against his rock hard pillow and felt the bed rise a little. He heard Sollux walk across the room and get into his own bed. Soon enough, he heard his roommate's breathing slow, but despite his exhaustion Karkat himself couldn't sleep.

  
He had arrived at college five days ago. It was his second year; in his first one he had had a dorm all to himself, which was actually pretty fucking nice. But this year, his family had decided to be a bunch of fucking cheapskates and he wound up sharing a dorm with none other than Sollux Captor, supergeek extraordinaire. Though Karkat admittedly didn't know him very well, Sollux was decidedly on his "hate list". The number of people he actually liked could be counted on one hand, and Sollux was definitely not among them. He had gathered a few things about his strange new roommate in the few days that he had known him.

  
Sollux often got into "computing trances" as Karkat liked to call them, where he was literally unresponsive to anything around him. Majoring in computer engineering, Sollux spent most of his time sitting in front of a screen, and sometimes he would get completely absorbed in whatever he was doing and spend hours upon hours just sitting there, typing lines of code. Karkat liked him best that way.

  
Sollux also had a lot of weird little habits and quirks; he would almost never be found without his strange dual-colored glasses, and while Karkat wasn't sure if they were actually used to aid Sollux's vision, they were fucking weird. Sollux also had that godawful lisp, and he had a habit of cracking his knuckles. And he was tall and skinny. Sollux was your stereotypical nerd. He also would not stop calling Karkat "KK", much to Karkat's annoyance. Karkat had decided that Sollux was quite possibly the worst roommate ever and perhaps one of the more annoying people on the planet.

Karkat tried not to think about his dream, which was less of a nightmare than it was a flashback. A horrible flashback to a troubled past. That moment had eaten him alive for the past five years of his life. He had only been fourteen years old when he had watched someone die for the first time.

  
Sometimes he heard the screams out of nowhere. They were his own; distant memories of the worst day of his life that refused to leave him alone. He was frequently struck by these vivid memories, and no matter how many times he tried to put them out of his mind he couldn't escape them.

  
_"You were crying and now you're hyperventilating."_ Karkat slapped a hand to his forehead. _Jeez, Sollux, way to make me sound like a whiny idiot. Fuck you, Sollux Captor. Die in a fucking fire. Note to self: Punch Sollux in the face next time he decides to take an interest in your fucking business._

  
Karkat eventually fell into a troubled sleep filled with thoughts of annoying roommates, the past, and what was to come.

 

\---

  
Karkat woke, as usual, to the sound of a computer booting up. He groaned as he sat up in bed, his back sore from a rough sleep. College dorms didn't exactly have the nicest furniture.

"Fuck, Sollux, couldn't you at least wear some headphones?" He rubbed his tired eyes, but Karkat's vision was still blurred from his grogginess. _Fuck, I bet I'll look really fantastic today._

  
"Wow, good morning, sunshine. Sorry, KK, but it's time you got up anyway. Don't you have an 8:30 class? Better hurry, it's 8 right now." Sollux didn't even bother to look up from his computer, which was still loudly making all sorts of startup noises. Karkat rolled his eyes and had the urge to throw his pillow at the back of Sollux's head, but decided that a blow from the rock hard pillow was enough to possibly be fatal. He managed to drag himself out of bed and have a shower. Karkat looked in the mirror, still absolutely exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes.

  
_Well, I look like absolute shit. Thanks, Sollux._

  
Of course, it wasn't really Sollux's fault, but Karkat felt better having someone to blame for his tiredness other than himself. As he made his way out the door, Sollux called to him, "Seeya, KK, maybe I'll catch you around today!"

Karkat made an effort to slam the door as hard as he could.

  
After leaving, Karkat realized that he had no idea what class he had; how was it that Sollux knew his timetable better than he did? The guy was obviously a complete fucking creep. Karkat pulled up his timetable on his iPod. _Great, some computer science class. I'm sure that won't be really fucking boring._

  
The class dragged on as expected, and nothing was really accomplished; the professor went on for a long time introducing himself and talking about his own personal interests instead of actually outlining the details of the course. Karkat decided that he could care less, and just as he was packing up to go to the cafeteria, he was joined by his friend Terezi.

  
"Hey, Karkles, heading to eat? I'll come with you, I skipped breakfast."

  
For a blind girl, Terezi was oddly observant; she often picked up on little things that Karkat missed, and if he hadn't known that she was blind he might have even commented on her keen eyesight.

"Yeah, I've decided that I'd rather not eat some cheap shit in my dorm. I'd rather pay the extra money for cafeteria food if it means I'm staying away from Sollux." Karkat said the name of his roommate with disdain, mocking his lisp and pushing an imaginary pair of glasses up onto his nose. Despite the fact that Terezi obviously couldn't see that, she still laughed, and they headed to the cafeteria together.

  
Terezi was one of those few people that Karkat liked. They had an odd relationship; Karkat was often sullen and cynical and Terezi was bright and happy, but he supposed she brought out the best in him. It was easy to be himself around her because she was so accepting. And she was one of the few people who knew about the event from the nightmare, and she assured him that she didn't blame him for it. Karkat wasn't sure the fact that she thought he wasn't at fault was a good thing, and sometimes he felt angry at her for it, but overall he felt comforted by the fact that he had at least one friend who knew about it. Someone to talk to. He wasn't exactly good at opening up to people about his feelings, but Terezi was somehow different. He could talk to her easily.

  
They had a long and peaceful chat about schedules. Terezi shared multiple classes with Karkat, and he unfortunately had a couple with Sollux that she wasn't in. Karkat could admit that his timetable really fucking sucked, but the classes with Terezi helped make up for it. He enjoyed the burger that he had ordered, despite the fact that the meat was a little dry, and he decided to go back to his dorm for a little bit to lie down, hoping that Sollux wasn't there. Karkat didn't have a class for hours yet, so he hoped he could get some much-needed shuteye. He said goodbye to Terezi and, feeling pretty good for once, opened the door to his small dorm.

  
His high spirits were immediately crushed when he saw Sollux sitting at his desk hunched over his computer, typing lines of code with music blaring from the speakers. He wasn't in one of his "computing trances", though, as he looked up and turned down the music to grin and say "Hey, KK. You feeling like any less of a colossal asshole this morning?"

  
Karkat glared at him and went to sit on the edge of his bed, examining the disaster area that was Sollux's desk. Papers, cords, and wrappers sat everywhere, and just as Karkat was about to look away in disgust, he noticed something sitting right next to Sollux's keyboard.

  
Karkat's phone.

  
He got up from the bed and rushed to Sollux's desk, snatching the phone.

  
"Sollux, what the fuck? Why the fuck were you using my phone, you sick creep? Trying to find out more shit about my timetable or something so you can stalk me between classes?"

  
Sollux frowned at Karkat and let out an exasperated sigh. Karkat couldn't believe that Sollux was frustrated with him - shouldn't it have been the other way around?

  
"KK, jeez. You must have left your phone behind, and it started ringing. I answered it, and I'm sorry, but it didn't even occur to me at the time, and this weird ass guy was on the other end..."

  
Karkat ran a hand through his hair and put the other hand on his hip, still thoroughly annoyed with Sollux. "And?"

  
"And... He realized it wasn't you, so he asked if I could take a message. I said sure. He said to tell you "Hey Karkat, it's Eridan. Deal's off. It's you next." I don't know what he meant. He just hung up afterwards."

  
The effect that Sollux's words had on Karkat were instantaneous. He froze in horror, staring with his mouth slightly agape at Sollux, who was peering over his glasses at his roommate in concern. 

"...KK? Is something wrong?"

  
Karkat wanted to scream in horror.

  
He had not heard Eridan's name in five years.


	2. Chapter 2

Karkat stood next to Sollux looking like a complete mess. He had dropped his hand from his hip and no longer looked frustrated and threatening; instead he looked like someone close to him had just slapped him across the face. His expression was one of horror and fear, and breathing heavily, he stepped backwards and tripped over the foot of the bed, falling onto it awkwardly. He sat up on the bed, trying to slow his breathing. During all of this, Sollux just stared at Karkat uncomfortably, unsure of what exactly to say.

Karkat managed to glare at Sollux, who's expression was hard to make out due to his stupid glasses. _Why can't he just fucking leave? I don't need him staring at me while I have a fucking mental breakdown._  


He buried his head in his hands, and long moments of silence passed before Sollux was able to work up the courage to ask dumbly, "KK, what the hell is going on? Uh... Are you okay?"

Sollux's stupidity would have made Karkat laugh if there weren't a million things running through his mind at that time, all of which were far more important than the ignorance of his stupid roommate. Running a cold hand through his hair, Karkat managed to get up shakily. Keeping his voice as cool and stoic as he could, he muttered, "Yeah, I just... I need to go to the washroom."

He knew that it was a stupid thing to say, that Sollux was fully aware that Karkat was not okay in the least. As he glanced at Sollux upon leaving the room, Karkat saw a faintly recognizable expression cross his roommate's face - Pity? Understanding? ...Worry? _Sollux doesn't give a fuck about you, and you don't care about him, so don't let yourself get wrapped up in his pretend pity. He's just trying to get on your good side so he doesn't have to deal with your crap. He doesn't really care._ This thought pressed its way into Karkat's mind, and on top of the situation at hand, added to the self-loathing he had been carrying around for the past five fucking years. He barely made it to the washroom before the tears started running down his face.

_Don't cry, you fucking idiot, it doesn't do you any fucking good. It didn't in the past and it won't now._

Karkat leaned against the tiled wall in the bathroom, the cold feeling uncomfortable through his shirt on his clammy skin. He slid down to the floor and put his head in his hands, still unable to overcome the shock of what Sollux had just told him.

_Hey Karkat, it's Eridan. Deal's off. It's you next._

Karkat could hear Eridan's voice clearly despite the fact that the last time they had talked had been five years ago. He didn't need to make sense of what Eridan had meant. His best and only friend in the world had died to protect him, and Eridan had, for some reason, decided that that hadn't been good enough. One life hadn't been enough. It had to end with him and Karkat. Tears streamed down Karkat's face as the thought that he had pushed to the back of his mind for years resurged, controlling his thoughts, making him shake with horror.

_This ends with you and Eridan. It always has. You should have killed yourself that day. You don't stand a chance. You killed your best friend._

Karkat pressed his head into his arms, trying to muffle the sobs that were escaping him, hoping that Sollux wouldn't hear. Despite his best efforts, however, there was a knock at the door of the bathroom.

"Karkat... Are you okay? Listen, if you need to talk, I'm here." Sollux didn't use that stupid nickname and he sounded genuinely concerned, but Karkat didn't want to hear it. He didn't want Sollux's friendship or kindness, regardless of how real it might be. 

His voice quivering, Karkat managed to say weakly, "Sollux, go the fuck away. I don't want to talk to you." He buried his head in his arms again, feeling more tears coming on. _Why the fuck are you so goddamn weak? Nobody else would cry in your situation. You're a freak._  


There was an awkward moment in which neither Karkat nor Sollux said a word, though the bespectacled boy outside the door could faintly hear the sound of Karkat crying. After some time, Sollux simply said, his voice heavy with sadness for his roommate, "Okay, Karkat... I'm going to leave you alone for a while. I imagine it isn't that comfortable in the bathroom... Why don't you try and get some sleep? Listen, I'll take my phone with me. I left my number on my desk in case you need anything. I hope you feel better." With that, Karkat could hear the door to the dorm open and then close.

_Fuck you, Sollux Captor. I don't need your fake fucking sympathy._

Karkat pushed his way out of the bathroom when he was sure the coast was clear and stopped when he saw his phone lying on the bed. He looked at it for a moment skeptically, still shaking with the horror that had overcome him. Slowly, he moved towards it and picked it up tentatively, as if it was a bomb ready to explode. He went through his call history hoping that he could find a number he recognized, praying that it was some twisted trick played on him by someone, anyone other than Eridan. He found the latest entry in his call history.

  
_Blocked_.

Karkat flung the phone across the room where it hit the wall with a dull thud, landing on Sollux's bed. He threw himself onto his own bed and let himself be fully enveloped in the panic and terror, letting it really set in.

_Why did Eridan change his mind? Why is he going after me now?_

He pulled the blankets of the unmade bed over him, trying to warm his body that had broken into a cold sweat. It wasn't really helping, but the bed was calming him down despite the fact that it wasn't exactly all that comfortable. Just as he thought he might be able to close his eyes for a few minutes, to push the idea of his imminent death out of his mind long enough to get some fucking sleep, his cell phone rang from its place on Sollux's bed. 

Terror immediately flooded Karkat's mind. He automatically jumped to the first and most horrible conclusion: that Eridan was calling, probably to tell him that he was about to die and there was nothing he could do about it.

Curiosity and horror forced Karkat to get out of the bed that had seemed so welcoming a moment ago, and now he found himself tangled up in the sheets, fighting to get them off as his phone rang across the room. Finally free, he dashed over and grabbed his phone only to find the one name on his caller ID that he was not expecting to see - Sollux's.

_Well, I'm up, I might as well see what the fuck he wants. Probably more news on my doom or something._

Karkat answered the phone. "What the fuck do you want, Sollux?" he asked as a mix of exhaustion, anger, and terror caused his voice to have a very dark edge to it.

"KK, I just wanted to make sure you're alright there, I'm really worried about you and I don't know who this Eridan guy is but if he's trying to hurt you or something I want to be able to help and-"

"Sollux, I'm fucking fine and I was trying to sleep. You know, you left the room so that you wouldn't fucking annoy me, and while I'll admit that the lack of your presence is nice, I'd still like to be completely rid of your annoying as fuck voice, too. So you can just shut the fuck up and get out of my personal business, and next time I get a phone call you can do what any normal person would do and not fucking answer it. I don't need your sympathy and I definitely don't need your fucking help."

The line was quiet for a while before Sollux was able to speak again. His voice was flat, and Karkat could tell that it wasn't a tone of indifference, but of pain. 

"I'm sorry for invading into your personal matters. I've obviously stepped into some sort of territory that I shouldn't have. If there's anything wrong you can talk to me about it. You should get some sleep." The line went dead.

Karkat sighed heavily, tossing the phone back onto the bed. He didn't even know what to think of Sollux anymore. The guy was just so... Exasperating. Despite the fact that Karkat seemed sort of socially inept, he was able to read people pretty well, to detect their motives and true colors. But Karkat could never tell if Sollux was truly genuine or just trying to make things less fucking awkward between the two of them. Why had Sollux been hurt by the exchange on the phone? _He can't possibly care about me. Nobody does. I'm not fucking important, so why would he have been hurt by what I had to say? Sure I was hard on him, but he's just so goddamn annoying._  


Karkat decided that Sollux could mind his own fucking business and collapsed onto his bed, finding that despite the day's events and the fact that it was only 2 PM he was able to fall asleep pretty easily.

_"Karkat... Why don't you love me like I love you?"_

_Tears ran down the young girl's face. Karkat stared at her awkwardly, not really sure what to make of the situation. Being only fourteen, he didn't have much experience with girls, and he just wasn't... Interested._

_"I'm... I'm really sorry. I don't feel that way about you. I always just kind of saw you as a friend." Karkat decided to just be honest with her. He didn't think that trying to make up some sort of elaborate story was going to make either of them feel any better about the situation._

_The girl was sobbing heavily now. She put her hands to her tear-stained face, recoiling when Karkat went to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder._

_"Don't touch me! I don't need your pity! I've made such a goddamn idiot of myself, oh my god, I'm so stupid..."_

_Karkat knew that the girl had always had self-esteem issues, and he was sure that this wasn't helping. Despite his excellent way with words, he could find nothing to say to console the girl in front of him. He was starting to think that he should have just lied and told her he felt the same way. It sure would have been easier than this._

_The girl turned and ran down the street, leaving Karkat alone, confused, and upset._

_Several hours later, Karkat sat at his computer, still disappointed in the way that he had dealt with the poor girl, feeling pretty guilty. Suddenly, her brother started pestering him._

_CA: SHES DEAD YOU DUMB FUCK_

_CA: YOU KILLED MY SISTER_

_CA: NOW IM GONNA FUCKIN KILL YOU_

_Karkat woke with a start with tears in his eyes. The dorm was quiet save for the sound of his heavy breathing, and the room was spinning. He could feel the bile rising in his throat as he came to the sickening realization of what was the reason behind Eridan's call._

_On that day, it had been exactly five years since she had died._


	3. Chapter 3

Karkat could hardly keep calm after realizing Eridan's motive.

  
_Five years ago today she died. I killed her. Eridan wants me to pay with my life._

  
Karkat ran his cold hands through his dark hair. He sat up on the edge of the bed shaking with horror, disturbed by the dream that he had just had.

  
_She took her life and it's my fault. I killed her. I killed my best friend and the girl who loved me. I'm worse than Eridan. I should just face him and let it be over with, but I'm too much of a coward._

  
The room was dim, and little sunlight filtered through the curtains despite the fact that they weren't entirely closed, and fucking sucked at keeping light out. Karkat looked at the clock, which read 5:37 PM. It was already late enough to get dark.

  
_Guess I'm not going to any more classes today. Or ever again._

  
Karkat stood up, realizing just how groggy he was. He had hardly slept since he got to college between Sollux's obnoxiousness and today's death threats. Part of him wanted to just lie down and sleep the rest of the day away, but he was far too shaken by his latest nightmare to even bother trying. He walked across the room to pick up his phone and was surprised to find that there were two missed calls. _I must have been sleeping like a fucking log. Holy shit, the ringer volume is even all the way up._ He looked at the missed calls - one from Sollux - _yeah right, like I'm going to call you back and chat you up, four-eyes_ \- and one from Terezi. She had left a voicemail, which resounded loudly throughout the otherwise silent room.

  
"Hey Karkles, listen, I was stopped by your new roommate. He told me that you had gotten a phone call from a guy named Eridan and that you were really freaked out about it. He told me the details of the message and... Holy shit, Karkat, we should be going to the police or something. Hopefully it was just a joke someone played on you or something, but otherwise give me a call. Hope everything's okay. Oh, and I like your roommate's glasses. You should give him a chance."

  
Karkat was in no mood to talk to Terezi about it, and he wasn't going to the police. Eridan hadn't outright threatened him in his mind, at least not in terms that the police could understand. And as far as he was convinced, this matter was personal. Between him and Eridan, the one person who had plagued his thoughts for the past five years. The person who took away what happiness his childhood had left, leaving a gaping hole in his self-esteem that he had spent the time trying to fill with bitterness and anger.

_I've got nobody to blame but myself._

  
Karkat jumped when the silence of the room was broken by the sound of a doorknob turning. Fearing the worst, he gripped his phone tighter, ready to throw it at an attacker. When Sollux entered the room, he realized what an idiot he probably looked like, holding his phone above his head in fear. He tried to relax a little, and Sollux just gave him that stupid quizzical look. Karkat tried to act like Sollux hadn't just frightened him into being ready to use his phone as a projectile and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He was pretty sure he saw Sollux smirk, but neither of them said anything.

  
_I can feel the awkward. Holy fuck._

  
Sollux walked across the room right past Karkat and tossed some books onto his desk, which landed with a dull thud. He walked lazily over to his bed and flopped over, lying on his back and covering his face with his hands for a moment.

"I've got the worst fucking headache ever, KK."

  
That was another thing about Sollux. He was the king of migraines. It was as if he always had one. Karkat wondered if he wore those stupid fucking glasses to limit the amount of light reaching his eyes. He watched Sollux for a moment, who groaned and rolled over to bury his face in his pillow. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, and Karkat was about to ask if he could get Sollux an aspirin or something before remembering that Sollux was a huge jerk and that he didn't deserve any sort of sympathy. Karkat sat down on his own bed and continued to feel awkward. This went on for a few minutes before Sollux sat up again with a hand pressed firmly to the side of his head as if that might help. He finally broke the silence.

  
"So, uh, KK, about that phone call-"

  
"Sollux, I don't want to fucking talk about it." Karkat could hear the darkness in his voice and hoped that Sollux would pick the fuck up on an ordinary social cue and shut up. He didn't.  
"KK, just shut up and listen to me for a sec. This Eridan guy is obviously nothing but trouble, and I don't mind helping you out if need be. I know you think I'm some sort of creep, but I'm actually not a bad guy, and I'm just looking out for you here. The least you could do is show me some sort of courtesy." Sollux pushed his glasses up his face and gave Karkat his usual quizzical look, raising those eyebrows in that fucking obnoxious manner of his. Karkat could feel his anger increasing; he was infuriated by Sollux's persistance. Without thinking, he stood up and crossed the room, grabbing Sollux's shirt collar and glaring down at him furiously.

  
"Sollux, you fucking idiot, fucking listen to me. I don't need or want your help and if I was fucking dying you'd be the last person on Earth I'd call for. You're an idiot and between your fucking lisp, your stupid headaches, your godawful nicknames, and every single fucking other horrible personality trait of yours, that's all of them by the way, you've been pissing me off since day one and you haven't done a fucking thing to even try to make up for it! Then you tell me that I'm not exercising enough fucking courtesy?" Karkat shoved Sollux away roughly, feeling a little bad when the guy grabbed his head in pain, but he wasn't about to show Sollux any sort of pity. He sighed and walked to the door, grabbing his keys. He decided that he would leave and maybe see if he could stay over at someone's house for the night. He didn't need any bags. And he'd be sure to slam the door as hard as he could so that Captain Migraine's headache might escalate to the point where he could experience a sleepless night much like the ones that Karkat had been having.

  
In the middle of his furious planning, however, Karkat was stopped at the door by the taller guy.

_How the fuck did he get over here so fast? Shit._

  
Just as Karkat was coming up with a sarcastic comment to throw at his roommate, Sollux grabbed his shoulders and pinned him to the wall. His face was expressionless, his voice flat.  
"Karkat, I've been trying to be fucking nice to you. All you've done is treat me like shit and yell at me. Maybe it's just the headache, but I've lost my fucking patience with you. I offer you my help and support and you shoot me down and treat me like some sort of sick creep. I have a lisp and you're constantly bothering me about it. I get it, I'm kind of fucking different, okay? But the real thing that separates you and me from each other is not our different voices or mannerisms or anything of the sort; it's the fact that you're fucking cold and heartless and I'm not. I'm trying to be nice, but I'm fucking done with you. The next time you insult me like that, I'm going to wring your fucking neck."

  
Karkat was a little shocked by the sudden seriousness in Sollux's tone, and he felt a little bad. Sollux did have a fucking point, but he was also pinning Karkat to a wall, and given the situation at hand Karkat wasn't ready to apologize and get on with what little remained of his life. He had been trying to defuse the situation as quickly as possible and Sollux had stopped him to rant about his feelings while giving Karkat his second death threat of the day.

  
"You might as well, it might piss Eridan off if you beat him to it." Karkat glared up at Sollux's heterochromatic eyes, which were barely visible through his tinted glasses.

Sollux looked a little shocked as Karkat's words hit him, realizing what kind of danger his roommate was in. Still, he said nothing.

  
"Anyway," Karkat continued, trying to sound bored with the situation, "You couldn't fucking hurt me if you tried."

  
Sollux smirked a little. "Wanna bet, short stuff?"

  
The reaction from Karkat was almost instantaneous. He wrestled free of Sollux's grip, who dodged free of a kick that hadn't been aimed quite well enough in Karkat's fury. With the way the two had moved, Karkat was now the one facing the wall and Sollux had his back to it. Karkat threw a punch at Sollux, who ducked out of the way just in time, and listened to the stomach-churning crack of the wall as Karkat's fist collided with it.

  
Karkat began to yell a long string of profanities, blood beginning to run out of the many cuts on his knuckles. He had done a good deal of damage to the wall, but from what Sollux could see his hand wasn't too bad aside from the bruises and cuts. Sollux smirked and said smugly, "You're right, KK. I couldn't hurt you, but I guess an inanimate object could."

Karkat used his good hand to give Sollux the finger and left the dorm, slamming the door as hard as he could and leaving his roommate to hold his throbbing forehead in pain.

  
After going to the infirmary to get his hand bandaged up, Karkat went to the cafeteria to grab a muffin, realizing his appetite was coming back. While eating, he wondered about his relationship with Sollux; did he really hate the guy? Should he have accepted Sollux's offer to help?

  
_What the fuck am I thinking? I'm on my own here. Sollux has nothing to do with this. I might not like him, but I'm not about to drag him into a situation where death is inevitable._  
He tore off a huge chunk of his muffin and stuffed it into his mouth.

  
_I've already done that to one of my friends_.

  
Karkat continued to wonder, however, if he should give Sollux a chance, to at least try and get along with him. As much as he found Sollux really fucking annoying, the guy behind the stupid glasses had a point. Karkat had been downright awful to him since they had met. He was thinking about how to go about at least talking to Sollux before his bandaged hand throbbed painfully. He glared at it, and saw that blood was still seeping through the gauze.

  
_Never fucking mind. Fuck you, Sollux Captor._

  
He threw out his half-finished muffin, which was too dry and gross anyway.

  
_Caloric intake was achieved, I guess._

  
Realizing that it was getting late, Karkat tried to call up literally all of his friends to see if he could spend the night somewhere, to no avail. Throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, he stormed back towards the dorm room he had to share with Sollux. He worried the whole way about whether or not he would walk in to see Sollux planning his untimely demise (get in fucking line) or whether he'd find some sort of disturbing Pesterchum message from Eridan or something. He hadn't changed his chumhandle since the incident five years ago, so it was always possible.

  
He was instead greeted by heavy metal music blasting throughout the dorm with Sollux hunched over his computer.

  
"Hey, fuckwit, I see you've gotten over your headache." Karkat rolled his eyes and threw himself onto his bed, covering his ears with his pillow.

  
Sollux turned down the music and spun around in his chair. "I thought you of all people would like heavy metal music. I mean, it's so... Angry."

  
Karkat had only been in the company of Sollux for about thirty seconds and he already wanted to punch him. "Well, for your information, I fucking don't. So turn it off so I can sleep for the next week."

  
Sollux raised an eyebrow, ignoring Karkat's request. "So what do you listen to, then?"

  
_Does this guy not remember that we just had an argument in which a part of our wall got destroyed, or is he just fucking with me right now?_

Karkat didn't want to humor Sollux's attempt at small talk. "None of your fucking business."

  
Sollux remained persistent, however. "Come on! Rock? Screamo? What do you like?"

  
Karkat realized that Sollux wasn't going to drop the subject. Under his breath, he muttered "Classical."

  
Sollux's interested look changed to one of great amusement as he laughed loudly. "Classical? Are you fucking kidding me? You of all people listen to classical music. Oh my god."

  
Karkat gave him the finger. "You fucking asked."

  
Sollux continued to grin, but his tone became more serious. "Alright, fine, fine. Who's your favorite classical artist, then?"

  
_I seriously can't believe this conversation is fucking happening right now._

  
"Chopin."

  
To Karkat's great surprise, Sollux didn't laugh. He merely grinned and said, "Are you serious? I love Chopin. Hey, don't give me that look, I'm not kidding here. Aside from the heavy metal, I'm a fan of classical. Chopin's my favorite too. What's your favorite piece by him?"

  
Karkat groaned inwardly. He didn't want to have anything in common with Sollux. He didn't even want to be talking to him right now, let alone having what he assumed his roommate could only see as some great experience to bond with each other. "Waltz Op. 64 No. 2." he mumbled.

  
Sollux was grinning like some sort of maniac at this point. "That's my favorite too!" he exclaimed happily. He turned back to his computer to look at his iTunes.

  
_Holy shit, does this guy just change moods that easily? An hour ago he wanted to kill me._

  
Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of the waltz they had been discussing.

  
"It's a beautiful piece," Sollux said quietly, resting his head in his hands.

  
Karkat rolled his eyes and crawled into bed, but he couldn't help but be a little thankful for the peaceful atmosphere created by the music, and despite the day's events he found himself succumbing to his exhaustion and drifting into a deep, undisturbed sleep.

 


End file.
